A bigger-than-average trout from a nameless creek, Sierra National Forest.
By Sam Davidson
For no good reason one of my favorite words is equinox. It sounds like a cool drum set, or a fancy word for a horse’s muzzle.
Of course, the term (which stems originally from the old Latin aequinoctium, or “... [ READ MORE... ]

Finding refuge from the heat, Stanislaus National Forest.
By Sam Davidson
Across the country, summer is prime time for trout fishing in the mountains. At higher elevations you typically get relief from sweltering lowland temperatures and find the kind of small water-wild fish opportunities that... [ READ MORE... ]

TU's VP for Western Conservation, Rob Masonis, and other signers of the new Central Valley Salmon Habitat Partnership flank California Secretary for Natural Resources John Laird at the signing ceremony on August 29, 2017.
By Sam Davidson
During the hottest and driest time of year here in... [ READ MORE... ]

Yuba River Chinook salmon. Photo: Jacob Katz
On August 25, a coalition of conservation and recreational groups, including Trout Unlimited, submitted formal comments on proposed requirements for relicensing dam and diversion operations on the Yuba River, one of California’s most important—and... [ READ MORE... ]

By Sam Davidson
Nowadays there is no age limit, apparently, for quarterbacks. Or for fly fishing.
Last weekend, my eighty-year-old mother joined legends such as Lefty Kreh and Frank Moore in providing more proof of the latter, as she waded up and down the banks of the South and Clark forks of the... [ READ MORE... ]

It is no secret that good conservation outcomes, as a rule, don't happen overnight. Today’s action by California’s Central Valley Flood Protection Board to adopt a new plan for reducing flood risks and restoring ecosystem health is a huge step forward for salmon and steelhead conservation that has... [ READ MORE... ]

Moments before the fateful spill, East Carson River.
By Sam Davidson
The defining moment of a recent road trip to fish some of the fabled streams along the east side of the Sierra came mere seconds after I snapped a photo of TMP getting a good drift through a sweet reach of the East Carson River.... [ READ MORE... ]

The Nacimiento River at peak winter flow, central California.
By Sam Davidson
A recent telephone call with the Steelhead Whisperer got me fired up. His brother had been car-camping around the central coast, and had seen people fishing in one of the streams that swerve out of the Santa Lucia range... [ READ MORE... ]

Floodplain habitat connectivity improvement project site, Lawrence Creek
TU’s North Coast Coho Project has been awarded a major grant to underwrite the first year of a three-year project to restore floodplain habitat connectivity in Lawrence Creek, a tributary to Yager Creek in the Van Duzen River... [ READ MORE... ]

Bill Templin and wild trout, SF Kings River.
By Sam Davidson
Almost twenty years ago, a man who had carried on a long term love affair with what must be one of the most underappreciated trout streams in the Sierra Nevada decided he was in a generous mood, and would form a group to share in the... [ READ MORE... ]